The present invention generally relates to a head gatch alarm system, more specifically, relates to a device, methods and system for a head gatch alarm system that triggers an operational response and an alert of a medical risk for aspirational pneumonia when an enteral pump is delivering liquid nutrients to a patient and an angle of the head gatch section is outside a predetermined range.
While the use of an enteral feeding pump is a common device for delivering a liquid nutrient to a patient, complications can arise during the feeding. In particular, one of these complications is aspirational pneumonia. Typically, aspirational pneumonia occurs when a patient's bed is positioned at an angle sufficient to allow the patient's gastric fluids to ascend the esophagus and be inhaled into the lungs. When the bed angle reaches this point, the stomach contents are able to percolate up through the esophagus and down into the lungs. When the enteral feeding pump continues to deliver liquid nutrients, despite the undesired low bed angle, it increases the medical risk of aspirational pneumonia.
Therefore, there remains a need in the prior art for a head gatch alarm system that reduces the risk of aspirational pneumonia with minimal false alarms or errors. More importantly, there is a need for a head gatch alarm system that alerts of a medical risk of aspirational pneumonia while allowing a medical professional to determine when to shut off a pump delivering vital liquid nutrients to a patient.